Textile machine feeder mechanism



Jan. 6, 1970 E. H. BOND TEXTILE MACHINE FEEDER MECHANISM Filed Sept. 21, 1967 w W l. H o\ /F s FIG. 2

INVENTOR. ELVIN H. BOND United States Patent 3,487,509 TEXTILE MACHINE FEEDER MECHANISM Elvin H. Bond, Sanford, N.C., assignor to Roberts Company, Sanford, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Sept. 21, 1967, Ser. No. 669,520 Int. Cl. D01g 25/00, 27/00, 15/40 US. Cl. 19156.4 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background, brief summary and objectives of the invention In feeding textile machine such as carding machines and related devices, it is desirable to feed to the machine a web of fibrous material having an even thickness and consistent tuft characteristics so as to insure that the subsequently formed product will be uniform in cross section and possess consistent characteristics.

It is equally important that the web of fibrous material fed to a carding machine have no metallic particles or other foreign substances since these materials would be deleterious to the machinery and result in inconsistent product characteristics.

The present invention has been developed to meet these conventional requirements and the apparatus and method disclosed herein insures a consistent even collection of fibrous material in web form which is free from foreign materials and which can be varied in thickness by varying the degree of induced suction inherent in the apparatus.

Generally, the present invention comprises a hopper for receiving fibrous material and a lifting apron inside the hopper which is substantially vertically positioned and operable to enage and lift the material within the hopper upwardly for a predetermined distance. At the upper end of the lifting apron is a cooperating stripping apron which removes a portion of the fibers engaged along the lifting apron, particularly those that are lumped or accumulated in unopened masses, so that these removed clusters will fall back within the hopper for subsequent opening. The material remaining on the lifting apron continues out of the hopper until it is engaged cooperatively by a doif roll which strips substantially all fiber from the lifting apron so that the fibers fall freely downwardly through a chute outside the hopper. The freely falling fibers then pass downwardly adjacent a suction device which draws material having consistent fiber tuft characteristics against a screen to form a web of uniform thickness, the thickness of the web depending upon the degree of the induced suction. The suction device has a variable opening to permit a variation in the degree of suction induced.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a feeding mechanism and method for textile machines of the type described for feeding fibrous material into a machine at an even and consistent rate.

Another object of the invention is to provide a feeding mechanism and method for textile machines for feeding fibrous material to a subsequent machine in a lap of uniform thickness.

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Yet another object of the invention is to provide a feed mechanism and method for fibrous material of the type described for opening and partially separating the fibers and thus dislodging the trash and foreign materials from the fibers during that operation.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a feed mechanism for fibrous material which will elevate the material, separate and release the material to fall freely proximate an induced suction so that a web of consistent texture and uniform thickness will be formed by an induced vacuum.

These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent after a consideration of the following detailed specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like characters of reference designate like parts throughout the several views.

Figure description FIG. 1 is a side elevational sectional view of the feeder mechanism showing the receiving hopper, the lifting apron, the stripping apron and cooperating dofl roll and their positioning with respect to the collecting chamber wherein freely falling fibrous material is collected by means of an induced suction to form a web of continuous thickness FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevational sectional view of the variable suction means of the mechanism of FIG. 1 where the freely falling fibrous materials are collected and web-formed by the suction induced.

Detailed description Referring now to the drawing and particularly to FIG. 1, a feed unit generally designated 10 for forming a fibrous web has an opening 12 at its top through which fibrous material 13 may be delivered directly from the plant pneumatic conveyor system.

The opening 12 has a downwardly extending passageway 14 which permits fibrous material to pass through cooperating feed rollers 18 and 20 and onto a lower horizontally positioned apron 25 to advance fibrous material positioned thereon by the feed rollers 18 and 20.

As apron 25 moves deposited material in a preselected direction (see arrow), an apron 28 which carries a plurality of pins 32 secures and elevates the fibrous material carried by the lower horizontal apron 25 by impaling that material-on the pins and moving it upwardly (see arrow). The area 34 adjacent apron 28 constitutes a receiving hopper for the fibrous materials introduced in opening 12 through passageway 14 and along apron 25 through the communicating opening 36.

A first feeler gauge 16 is positioned within pasageway 14 and is normally biased as shown in FIG. 1. When fibrous material 13 accumulates in pasageway 14 to the extent that it rises above the feeler gauge 16, that gauge will be displaced in a parallel position along the wall 17 of the passageway and will control the operation of the plant supply system to preclude any additional fibrous material 13 from accumulating in the passageway. Once the material has been used to the extent that it no longer biases feler gauge 16, that gauge will return to its original position and allow the operation of the plant system to provide additional material through the opening 12.

A second feeler gauge 38 is positioned within the receiving hopper 34 in the manner shown in FIG. 1, and that gauge will be deflected when the level of fibrous ma terial collected within the hopper rises to the level of the gauge position. The gauge 38 is operably wired with flie drive means of feed rollers 18 and 20, and when deflected, these rollers will cease to operate thus precluding the introduction of any additional fibrous material within the hopper 34 from the passageway 14 until the hopper level is diminished to the extent that feeler gauge 38 is exposed and biased to its original position. The provision of feeler gauges 16 and 38 insures a consistent web formation'through a constant level of fibrous material.

A Stripping apron 40 is horizontally positioned at the upper portion of apron 28 so that large clusters of fibers are removed from the lifting apron and redirected to the hopper 34. Thus some initial steps taken to control the web thickness and consistency through the action of the stripping apron 40.

The fibers retained on the pins 32 of lifting apron 28 (not removed by apron stripper 40) move with the apron 28 until they are stripped by the doif roll 42 whereupon the stripped fibers fall freely downwardly through a chute 44 in a random manner. The dofi roll has a plurality of stripping members 46 which are disposed to shed the fibrous material from the pins 32.

Thus the material removed from the apron by the doff roll falls freely through the chute 44.

Situated near the bottom 48 of chute 44 is a webforming suction device generally designated 50 which comprises a housing 51 having an orifice 52 which is surrounded by a movable shell 53 and a perforated screen 54 in the manner particularly shown in FIG. 2. Some air displacing means (not shown) such as a fan .or other vacuum creating device is positioned at one end of the housing 51 so that air flow will be induced across chute 44 through orifice 52 and through the air inducing means at the end of the housing.

Further adjustment in the induced suction air velocity is achieved by means of a flexible adjustable bafile 62 extending downwardly from the exterior wall 64 of chute 44 and turning upwardly and partially along the circumference of the suction device screen 54 as particularly shown in FIG. 2. Bafiie 62 may be suitably adjusted by retracting or extending the ends, either of which may be movable, so as to diminish or enlarge the general opening 66 formed by the baffle 62 and the end 68 of the apron 60. By suitable operation of the movable baflle 53 and the flexible shell 62, the desired air flow velocity and web thickness for a given capacity may be obtained to compensate for any size or texture of fibrous material which is introduced into the feeding apparatus.

Thus as fibrous material falls freely through chute 44 and near opening 52, it is drawn onto the screen 54 until the density of the web formed on the screen is such that the velocity of air flow induced through the screen is reduced to the extent that no more fibers will be attracted.

Thus the fibers which were stripped from the lifting apron by the doif roll 42 fall freely under the influence of gravity, down the chute 44 and proximate the opening 66. If large clusters of fibers are not removed by the stripping apron 40 and are removed bythe doff roll 42, they will accelerate at a faster rate than the open and air-retarded fibers and have such momentum as not to be drawn onto the screen by the suction through the opening 66. Thus a webof even thickness and consistent fiber-cluster characteristics is produced. Obviously, any metallic contents of the freely falling clusters through chute 44 will cause the fibers to accelerate and pass the opening 66 and not be drawn therein. The freely falling fibers which are unopened and of greater density and which fall past the opening 66 are directed by a baffie 56 against the lifting apron 28 for recycling. Metallic particles or trash will pass to the apron 25. These materials will not be carried back into the hopper 34 by the pins 32 of the lifting apron but will be discharged to the floor level 58 or a collecting tray.

A feeding apron 60 is contiguous with and drives the rotating screen 54. The web of material drawn to the screen is carried partially around the screen between it and the apron 60, and this web is then fed into the feed rolls 61 of, for example, a carding machine 72, subsequently taken in by the lickerin and eventually placed on the main cylinder of that machine.

The adjustability feature of the present invention lies in the opening 66 associated with the air inducing means located at an end of the housing 51. If a fan is drawing air at a given capacity, the velocity of the air will depend upon the dimensions of the orifice through which the air is drawn. If a large orificeis exposed, the air will flow slowly through the orifice whereas if a smaller orifice is exposed, the air will flow at a considerably higher rate. Thus the variation in web thickness is achieved by the provision of a flexible baffle 62 which can be positioned to restrict or enlarge'the opening 66 through which the air is drawn (see FIG. r2).,Thus ifthe opening .66 is increased in size by movement of bafile .62, the velocity of air through the opening is reduced to the extent that fibers are not accumulated beyond certain limits. On the other hand, if the opening is reduced in size by repositioning of baffle 62, the velocity of the air passing through the opening is increased and a thicker web is formed on .the screen 54.

While only a single embodiment of the present invention has been described, it is to be understood that the invention is capable of further modifications and is inintended to cover any variation, use, or adaptation of the invention, including the hopper, the lifting apron, the suction device and other elements of the disclosure described, without departing from the real spirit and purpose of this invention. Such modifications as well as the use of mechanical equivalents are contemplated.

What is claimed is: 1

1. An apparatus for feeding fibrous material to textile machines, comprising: a hopper receiving the fibrous material; means elevating the fibrous material within said hopper; means removing the elevated fibrous material from said elevating means so that the material falls from an elevated position; suction means inducing at least some of the fallen fibrous material to flow in a direct path of collection, said suction means including an independently rotatable web-forming foraminous surface positioned so that the suction-induced flowing fibrous material is collected thereagainst, said suction means also including a housing, an orifice in said housing, variable closure means associated with said orifice including an adjustable, flexible, baflle forming a generally U-shaped loop extending partially .around the circumference of said rotatable foraminous surface for controlling air distribution and the flow of fibrous material against said foraminous surface, air displacing means for inducing air flow through said orifice, and an apron contiguous with said-suction means web-forming foraminous surface and adapted to rotate with said surface as the fallen fibrous material forms a web between said apron and said surface for subsequent feeding to a textile machine. i i i i I 2. The feeder mechanism as claimed in claim'l, said removing means including a stripping apron removing a portion of the elevatedfibrous material from the elevating apron before the removed materials have been extracted from said hopper so that the removed material is returned to said hopper, and a doif roll operative with. saidlift apron outside said hopper removing the elevated fibrous material so that the material will fall freely outside said hopper. t 3. The feeder mechanism as claimed in claim 2, said hopper having a lower conveyor horizontally positioned to urge fibrous material against said lifting apron for subsequent elevation.

4. The feeder mechanism as claimed in claim 3, said aprons and conveyors having a plurality of pins adapted to pick and secure fibrous material for handling during movement and elevation of the material, said means re- 5 6 moving the elevated fibrous material from said elevating 2,876,500 3/1959 Buresh et al. 19-205 XR means including a plurality of stripping members co- 3,326,609 6/1967 Auten et a1. operating with said lifting apron pins to strip the fibrous FOREIGN PATENTS mammal therefrom 233,240 4/1909 Germany.

References Cited 5 893,686 4/1962 Great Britain.

UNITED STATES PATENTS DORSEY NEWTON, Primary Examiner 2,890,497 6/1959 Langdon et a1 19-1561 Us CL 1,350,439 8/1920 Davidson 19-205 XR 10 19 1 5 205 

